Four people have been arrested in connection with an incident in Ditchling Road, Brighton. Police received a report of a kidnapping on Monday evening (17 October). This triggered an immediate response to safely locate the victim.
Following enquiries, a flat on Ditchling Road was identified as the offence location. Officers including Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officers (CTSFOs) responded to the scene shortly after 6pm on Tuesday (18 October) and the victim – a 27-year-old local man – was recovered and taken to a place of safety.
A 20-year-old man of no fixed address and an 18-year-old man from Midhurst were arrested at the scene on suspicion of kidnap.
A third suspect ran from the address and made it onto a roof near Vere Road. A number of roof tiles were thrown, causing damage to several vehicles.
A specialist negotiator was called and the 25-year-old, of no fixed address, was also arrested on suspicion of kidnap.
A fourth suspect – a 27-year-old man of no fixed address – was arrested at the address on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
All four remain in police custody at this time.
Superintendent Adele Tucknott, of Brighton Command, said: “After receiving a report of a kidnap, our priority was to safely recover the victim and detain any suspects. This involved a number of covert and overt tactics, including distraction devices. This will have resulted in a loud noise which we appreciate may have caused alarm to anyone in the area; no firearms were discharged.
“This is an ongoing investigation and I would urge anyone with any information about the incident to report it online or call 101, quoting Operation Bloomfield.
“I’d also like to thank the public for their patience and understanding while we dealt with the incident. The public can expect to see a heightened police presence in the area in the meantime.
“We are treating this as an isolated incident with no threat to the wider community.”
A section of Ditchling Road was temporarily closed while officers were in attendance, and was reopened later that evening.
